EVALUATION OF SUPPLEMENTING HERBAL PRODUCT TO SOWS FOR IMPROVING LITTER WEIGHT AND REDUCING PIGLET MORTALITY

Objective: To examine the impact of the herbal product in improving litter weight, reducing piglet mortality and increasing milk production in sows.Methods: 20 sows which were in their late gestation period were randomly divided into two groups (n=10). Group T0 sows served as no treatment control group, and T1 group sows were supplemented with herbal galactagogue premix, Payapro (M/S Ayurvet Ltd., Baddi) administered for 5 d prior to farrowing and & 10 d post farrowing.Results: The analyses of result revealed that the postpartum milk yield (Approximately for 2 mo) was found to be increased in Payapro supplemented group (166 liters) in comparison to control group (103.5 liters). A significant reduction in mortality in Payapro supplemented group was evident at the time of weaning. Mean piglet weight was improved in the treatment group by 38.8%. Average litter size was also more in Payapro supplemented group (8.6) than the control group (7.7).Conclusion: Payapro premix can enhance the sow productivity in terms of milk production and number of. pigs produced per litter.Keywords: Galactogogue, Mean piglet weight, Average mortalityÂ

Coloc-stats: A unified web interface to perform colocalization analysis of genomic features

Functional genomics assays produce sets of genomic regions as one of their main outputs. To biologically interpret such region-sets, researchers often use colocalization analysis, where the statistical significance of colocalization (overlap, spatial proximity) between two or more region-sets is tested. Existing colocalization analysis tools vary in the statistical methodology and analysis approaches, thus potentially providing different conclusions for the same research question. As the findings of colocalization analysis are often the basis for follow-up experiments, it is helpful to use several tools in parallel and to compare the results. We developed the Coloc-stats web service to facilitate such analyses. Coloc-stats provides a unified interface to perform colocalization analysis across various analytical methods and method-specific options (e.g. colocalization measures, resolution, null models). Coloc-stats helps the user to find a method that supports their experimental requirements and allows for a straightforward comparison across methods. Coloc-stats is implemented as a web server with a graphical user interface that assists users with configuring their colocalization analyses

Pseudogene Associated Recurrent Gene Fusion in Prostate Cancer.

We present the functional characterization of a pseudogene associated recurrent gene fusion in prostate cancer. The fusion gene KLK4-KLKP1 is formed by the fusion of the protein coding gene KLK4 with the noncoding pseudogene KLKP1. Screening of a cohort of 659 patients (380 Caucasian American; 250 African American, and 29 patients from other races) revealed that the KLK4-KLKP1 is expressed in about 32% of prostate cancer patients. Correlative analysis with other ETS gene fusions and SPINK1 revealed a concomitant expression pattern of KLK4-KLKP1 with ERG and a mutually exclusive expression pattern with SPINK1, ETV1, ETV4, and ETV5. Development of an antibody specific to KLK4-KLKP1 fusion protein confirmed the expression of the full-length KLK4-KLKP1 protein in prostate tissues. The in vitro and in vivo functional assays to study the oncogenic properties of KLK4-KLKP1 confirmed its role in cell proliferation, cell invasion, intravasation, and tumor formation. Presence of strong ERG and AR binding sites located at the fusion junction in KLK4-KLKP1 suggests that the fusion gene is regulated by ERG and AR. Correlative analysis of clinical data showed an association of KLK4-KLKP1 with lower preoperative PSA values and in young men (\u3c50 \u3eyears) with prostate cancer. Screening of patient urine samples showed that KLK4-KLKP1 can be detected noninvasively in urine. Taken together, we present KLK4-KLKP1 as a class of pseudogene associated fusion transcript in cancer with potential applications as a biomarker for routine screening of prostate cancer

Distinct phenotype of CD4+ T cells driving celiac disease identified in multiple autoimmune conditions

Combining HLA-DQ–gluten tetramers with mass cytometry and RNA sequencing analysis, we find that gluten-specific CD4+ T cells in the blood and intestines of patients with celiac disease display a surprisingly rare phenotype. Cells with this phenotype are also elevated in patients with systemic sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus, suggesting a way to characterize CD4+ T cells specific for disease-driving antigens in multiple autoimmune conditions